Team Derby Men’s Basketball 1sts beat Anglia Ruskin University 92-51 in a hard-fought victory to stay unbeaten.
Despite the scoreline being so convincing, Derby only really got going in the third quarter of the game, which coach Dan Watts noticed.
He said: “The guys in the second half really pressed hard.This was something that we didn’t do in the first and playing at slow tempo didn’t suit our style of play”.
The first quarter was a tight, tense affair which saw all of Derby’s 20 points come within the paint.
Watts admitted that his team had to have a chat after the first quarter to discuss their standards as Derby are usually known for their attacking style of play.
However Derby again were wasteful in the the second quarter and took them three minutes to score any points. Daniel Garrett was able to sink two impressive three pointers for Derby and was the key man in the late stages, scoring 12 of his team’s 17 points.
Team Derby asserted their dominance on the game in the third quarter almost doubling their score from the previous half. Some hard fought defensive work from Uchenna Emelonge also helped keep the visitors at bay.
A fantastic second half team performance showed how strong this Derby team looks and with Garrett and fellow American team mate Austin Anderson in fine form could be seen the difference in Team Derby’s quest for silverware.
BY SAM WARD